Replacement of oxygen with sulfur on the furanose ring of cyclic dinucleotides enhances the immunostimulatory effect via STING activation.

Cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs) are secondary messengers composed of two purine nucleotides linked via two phosphodiester linkages: c-di-GMP, c-di-AMP, 3',3'-cGAMP, and 2',3'-cGAMP. CDNs activate the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) and trigger immune responses in mammalian species. CDNs are thus fascinating molecules as drug candidates, and chemically stable CDN analogues that act as STING agonists are highly desired at present. We herein report the practical synthesis of 4'-thiomodified c-di-AMP analogues, which have sulfur atoms at the 4'-position on the furanose ring instead of oxygen atoms, using simple phosphoramidite chemistry. The resulting 4'-thiomodified c-di-AMP analogues acted as potent STING agonists with long-term activity. Our results show that replacing O4' on CDNs with sulfur can lead to enhanced immunostimulatory effects via STING activation.

Soil Microbial Communities Involved in Reductive Dissolution of Arsenic from Arsenate-Laden Minerals with Different Carbon Sources.

The natural microbial communities involved in arsenic (As) extraction under biostimulated conditions are still unclear. In this study, soil slurry was incubated with arsenate [As(V)]-laden Fe(III) or Al (hydr)oxides with lactate or acetate. After 40 d, dissolved As released from As(V)-laden Fe(III) accounted for 54% of the initial solid-phase As in lactate-amended slurries, while much less As was released from acetate-amended slurries. As was released more rapidly from As(V)-laden Al, but the total release was relatively low (45%). High-throughput Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes revealed that dissimilatory metal(loid) reducers such as Desulfitobacterium became predominant in lactate-amended slurries. Moreover, anaerobic fermenters in the Sporomusaceae family were predominant. Interestingly, a Sporomusaceae bacterial strain isolated from the slurry was capable of releasing As from both As(V)-laden (hydr)oxides in the presence of lactate. The strain first released As as As(V) and subsequently reduced it to As(III) in the aqueous phase. These results suggest that lactate is a suitable carbon source for As extraction by natural microbial communities, and that both dissimilatory metal(loid) reducers and certain anaerobic fermenters play significant roles in As extraction. Microbial reductive dissolution of As may be expected to be a cost-effective restoration technique for As-contaminated soils.

Draft Genome Sequence of a Novel Lactate-Fermenting Bacterial Strain of the Family Sporomusaceae within the Class Negativicutes.

Here, we report a draft genome sequence of the Sporomusaceae bacterial strain FL31, a novel lactate-fermenting bacterium of the family Sporomusaceae within the class Negativicutes. This genome furthers our understanding of the physiological functions of this taxonomic group in natural environments.

Layer-by-Layer Epitaxial Growth of Scalable WSe2 on Sapphire by Molecular Beam Epitaxy.

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) provides a simple but powerful way to synthesize large-area high-quality thin films and heterostructures of a wide variety of materials including accomplished group III-V and II-VI semiconductors as well as newly developing oxides and chalcogenides, leading to major discoveries in condensed-matter physics. For two-dimensional (2D) materials, however, main fabrication routes have been mechanical exfoliation and chemical vapor deposition by making good use of weak van der Waals bonding nature between neighboring layers, and MBE growth of 2D materials, in particular on insulating substrates for transport measurements, has been limited despite its fundamental importance for future advanced research. Here, we report layer-by-layer epitaxial growth of scalable transition-metal dichalocogenide (TMDC) thin films on insulating substrates by MBE and demonstrate ambipolar transistor operation. The proposed growth protocol is broadly applicable to other TMDCs, providing a key milestone toward fabrication of van der Waals heterostructures with various 2D materials for novel properties and functionalities.